Geography: islands and regions of Japan

4 main islands
Hokkiado, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu

8 main regions
Region in Hokkaido island
-Hokkaido region
Regions in Honshu island
-Tohoku region
-Kanto region
-Chubu region
-Kinki region
-Chugoku region
Region in Shikoku island
-Shikoku region
Region in Kyushu island
-Kyushu region

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Hokkaido region (major city: Sapporo)
-Hokkaido was inhabited by the Ainu people and not included in Japan proper until 17th century.
-Hokkaido is noted for its dramatic and unspoiled scenery, which includes active volcanoes, large lakes, and vast virgin forests.

Tohoku region (major city: Sendai)
-Tohoku is largely mountains, and most cities are concentrated along the Pacific and Sea of Japan coasts.

Kanto region (major city: Tokyo =capital city of Japan)
-Kanto is the most heavily populated region and is the political, economic, and cultural center of the nation.
-In 1603, Tokugawa, Ieyasu (1543-1616) completed the unification of Japan, and established the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo (=Tokyo). This is the beginning of Tokyo as the center of Japan. In 1868, at the period of Meiji Restoration, Edo was renamed to Tokyo and officially became the capital city.

Chubu region (major city: Nagoya)
-Chubu is located at the geographical center of Japan.
-The climate of Chubu is mild on the Pacific side, but the Sea of Japan side has long snowy winters.

Kinki region (major cities: Osaka, Kyoto)
-Kinki is the second most important industrial region.
-Osaka is the industrial and financial center of western Japan.
-Kyoto had been the capital city before Tokyo (from 794 to 1868), and it is a veritable historical and traditional storehouse.

Chugoku region (major city: Hiroshima)
-Chugoku is a mountainous region.
-Hiroshima is the first city being exposed to the atomic bomb attack (1945).

Shikoku region (major city: Takamatsu)
-Shikoku is the smallest of Japan’s four main islands.

Kyushu region (major city: Fukuoka)
-The climate of Kyushu is mild to subtropical with heavy precipitation and frequent typhoon.
*Okinawa belongs to Kyushu island.